Fixing the Boat in Exotic Places
19 September 2013 | La Linea de la Concepcion
sunny and breezy
Photo: Taken from the Alcaidesa Marina in La Linea looking across to the Rock of Gibraltar.
Well we finally received the correct spare part, almost three weeks after our saga began. We decided to order the part directly from a dealer in France. First we had a couple of frustrating days waiting to learn if they had the right part in stock (seals and piston rings for the hydraulic pump). They did! Last Thursday we agreed to pay an exorbitant 95 EUR (US$130!) shipping fee for a 2 lb. parcel, for what was supposed to be an overnight delivery by courier from Friday (the 13th!) to Saturday.
But it didn't come on Saturday. On Monday we called and got the online tracking number. We could see that the package had gone from the office in Mandelieu to Nice to Marignane in France, then on to Cologne, Germany, to Madrid, and finally to Seville. It was stuck in Seville due to an incorrect destination address!
The tracking note said they were trying to determine the correct address, and they sent a postcard to the recipient. Now just what address would they send the postcard to, since we are the recipient and they don't have our correct address to deliver the package?! There was no phone number listed for us to call.
So I Skyped Sylvie in France who we have been dealing with per email, but she sounded rather helpless (hapless?). I asked her to please contact the courier ASAP and give them our correct address. She said she'd have her colleague "look into it" and get back to us. Sigh.
Hooray! The package finally reached us Tuesday late afternoon. We can be glad we didn't have a problem with Customs, since France and Spain are both in the EU.
Burger was able to fix the pump (no more leaking oil), and now we're ready to go.
Luckily it didn't affect our departure date as the weather wouldn't have let us leave sooner anyway, and we've enjoyed our stay. Lots of boats have arrived here in the meantime, most headed west along with us. We have British, French, German and Norwegian neighbors at our dock, some boats flying the ARC rally flag.
Wind is supposed to turn from west to east by tomorrow. Next stop: an overnight sail to Morocco. Our new friends on sv Meredith and sv Fabuloso will be going with us.